In or out?

Some Conservative MPs are stepping up the pressure on David Cameron to offer the great British public an 'in-or-out' referendum on EU membership.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/9700867/Tories-cheer-Cameron-in-Europe-and-demand-referendum.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9700903/Mark-Pritchard-Only-an-in-out-referendum-will-do.html

Doubtless Cameron's deputy, Nick Clegg, will support this, won't he?   After all his party put this out at the last general election:

Time to leave the EU?

Leaving the Scottish independence issue to one side (the SNP has claimed that an independent Scotland will remain in the EU and not have to apply for membership), the months ahead are fraught with danger for the Coalition government on the issue of the terms of UK membership of the EU, or indeed leaving the EU altogether.

Barroso has announced he is working towards a 'federation of nation states' by mid 2014 and other moves are afoot.  See:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/9560306/Europe-EU-David-Cameron-referendum-superstate-repatriation.html

The clammer for and against greater integration has started:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/9559937/Vclav-Klaus-warns-that-the-destruction-of-Europes-democracy-may-be-in-its-final-phase.html

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1651/the_brussels_diary_federal_europe_is_on_its_way

http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/113036,Dont-risk-losing-your-voice-in-Europe-Polands-foreign-minister-tells-UK

EU democratic deficit

Reference has been made in previous posts on this blog concerning the issue of the democratic deficit in the European Union.  The link is to an excellent article on this matter.  Well worth a read should you be pro or anti EU, or agnostic.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/essay-on-why-germany-should-hold-a-referendum-on-europe-a-854000.html

And now, something different:

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1624/as_the_eu_falters_a_new_empire_could_rise_in_eastern_europe

The EU referendum vote

Thursday 27th October will be an interesting day.  The House of Commons will debate a motion on  a referendum with three options: in, out or re-negotiate.  The result of the vote is not binding on the government.  Nevertheless, it is reported that Cameron will issue a three-line whip ordering MPs to trudge into the 'no' division lobby to defeat the call for a referendum.  Once again, Europe has returned to haunt the Tories.

See: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benedictbrogan/100111943/david-cameron-doesn%e2%80%99t-have-long-to-tell-us-where-he-stands-on-europe/

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100111867/the-house-of-commons-will-finally-divide-on-whether-to-give-us-an-inout-referendum-whats-the-betting-that-the-bbc-report-it-wholly-as-a-tory-splits-story/

I foresee UKIP gaining new members after 27th October as disaffected Tories finally lose patience.  In this context, an interesting article from Conservative Home:

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/majority_conservatism/2011/10/a-summary-of-the-differences-between-the-conservative-party-we-have-and-the-conservative-party-we-ne.html